Monday, 7 May 2012

Chilli
Cheese Stuffed Peppers

This
is a great way of using up leftovers, which is exactly what I did,
taking the rice from Saturday night and mixing it with the vegetables
from last night. This is not really a recipe as such, more of an idea
of something you can do for a filling lunch.

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra
A

1
green pepper

1
red pepper

a
couple of handfuls of cooked rice – mine was brown rice

about
the same amount of leftover vegetables – I used sweetcorn, Savoy
cabbage and carrots, but most vegetables would work

a
few stems of fresh herbs, finely chopped – I has some sage left

a
small onion to add a bit of a crunchy texture

tub
of Low Low mature cheese with red pepper and chilli

Cut
the peppers in half lengthways. Mix together the rice, vegetables and
herbs. Blitz the cheese in a microwave for 20 seconds or so to soften
it. Stir the cheese in to the rice and vegetable mix and fill the
peppers with it. Bake at 220°C for 10-15 minutes until nicely brown
on top.

Serve
with a salad and potatoes of your choice. I cut up the leftover
jacket wedges from yesterday and fried them at a fairly high heat in
a little Fry Light to crisp them up.

Sunday, 6 May 2012

Spiced
Baked Plums

This is a lovely warming dessert, and suits me well, as I often struggle to get my Heathy Extras in each day. You can also serve this for breakfast.

Serves
2

Syn
free on Extra easy providing you use the plums as your Healthy Extra
B

6
large plums

2
cinnamon sticks

2
vanilla pods

3-4
whole star anise

small
handful whole cardamom

sweetener
to taste

Quarter
the plums and remove the stones. Place cut side up in a shallow oven
proof dish. Split the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the
seeds. Place in a small bowl with the pods. Add all the other
ingredients and some boiling water (around 150ml or so) and pour
gently over the plums. Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes until the
plums are soft but still holding their shape. Serve with fat free
yogurt.

Boston
Baked Beans

I
love Boston baked beans, and this is the best recipe I have made to
date. Even my dad said he enjoyed it, which is really quite rare!

This
version is baked in the slow cooker and the meat will be very well
done, falling apart at the touch. If you prefer your meat firmer,
just add it half way through the cooking time.

Serves
4-6

13
syns for the whole casserole on Extra Easy

250g
dried haricot beans

½
tsp ground cloves

2
onions

1
bay leaf

6
tbsp tomato purée

1
tbsp Dijon mustard

2
tbsp molasses sugar

2
tbsp dark muscovado sugar

250ml
stock

small
gammon joint

salt
and pepper

Soak
the beans for at least eight hours, preferably overnight. Drain,
rinse and place half the beans in the bottom of the slow cooker dish.
Cut each onion in eight segments and place on top of the beans.
Remove all fat from the gammon and cut in one inch cubes; place in
the pot with the beans and onions. Top with the remaining beans.

I
a separate bowl, mix together the sugars, bay leaf, mustard, tomato
purée and stock. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Pour over
the beans and meat, adding more water if necessary to almost cover
the beans. Turn on the slow cooker to high and cook for 5-6 hours.
Serve with potatoes and vegetables of your choice.

Minced
Beef Hash

This
is my adaptation of Anthony Worrall Thompson's recipe from his
Weekend Cookbook which again is an adaptation of a classic American
breakfast dish. It makes a great weekend brunch and easily fills you
up until dinner. It would be equally suitable as a supper dish too.

Serves
2

½
syn on Extra Easy

200g
extra lean minced beef

2
rasher bacon, finely chopped

2
tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped

1
onion, finely chopped

1
tbsp sherry vinegar

2
tsp Dijon mustard

200g
potatoes, peeled and grated

salt
and freshly ground black pepper

a
few drops of Worcestershire sauce

2
eggs

Tomatoes,
baked beans, mushrooms to serve

Mix
together all the ingredients except the eggs and Worcestershire
sauce. Heat a little Fry Light in a large frying pan, and when hot,
add the beef mix. Cook for around ten minutes until the meat is
cooked through, constantly stirring to prevent it sticking. The idea
is to get some crusty bits on the meat, but without any added fat
when frying, this can be very difficult. I was finding that instead
of browning off nicely, it was just sticking to the pan. Therefore,
to finish it off, stick it under the grill for 5-10 minutes, until
the top is well browned. This is what really gives the dish its
flavour. Season with Worcestershire sauce and serve topped with a
fried egg each.

Serve
with accompaniments of your choice – I had some leftover tomatoes
and mushrooms, but you can also add baked beans, or even sausages for
that complete Sunday fry-up!

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Khoresh
Ghormeh Sabzi

A
good friend and colleague was married to an Iranian for over 20
years, and this was her signature dish when entertaining. I fell in
love with the subtle flavours and have since cooked it several times
myself at home. Visiting Iran in 2007 we were lucky enough to be
served this in a private home, and being taught how to cook it by the
hostess.

You
can buy dried ghormeh sabzi mixed herbs at Bristol Sweetmart, but failing
that, use a mixture of chives, parsley, turmeric leaves and
coriander.

Khoresh
Ghormeh Sabzi

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy

300g
lean stewing beef

2
onions

½
cup ghormeh sabzi

½
tsp turmeric

1
tsp cinnamon

1
tin of red kidney beans

flavoursome
stock

Sauté
the onion in a little Fry Light for a few minutes, then add the beef
and cook, ensuring that the meat is nicely browned all over. Add the
herbs and spices and enough stock to cover, then simmer over a very
low heat for half an hour. Add the drained kidney beans and simmer
for a further 30 minutes. Serve with rice and vegetables of your
choice.

Noodle-Soup
Frittata

Even
wondered what to do with leftover soup other than serving it as soup
again? Well, I did too, and put my thinking cap on. Having eaten all
the meatballs out of yesterday's soup, all that was left over was noodles
and vegetables. Thinking back to my mum's baked spaghetti some 40
years ago, I had an idea. Draining the water off, I was left with a
nice filling for a frittata. I also raided the fridge for other
orphaned bits and pieces, finding the crushed soya beans and some
Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra
A

I
fried up a couple of sliced onions in a little Fry Light and while
that was cooking, mixed four eggs with the grated cheeses and crushed
soya beans. Once the onion was soft, I chucked the noodle mix in the
pan and stirred to heat it up, then shook the pan to level it all
out. I carefully poured the egg-bean-cheese mixture evenly over the
noodles and spread it right out to the edges. Turning down the heat a
little, I covered the pan with a lid while I grilled some tomatoes
and placed a handful of salad on a couple of plates. As soon as the
frittata had firmed up, I served it with the salad and tomatoes, and
some Extra Light Mayonnaise on the side (½ syn per tablespoon).

It
worked surprisingly well, even Husband was impressed; and it gives me
great pleasure to have created a new dish out of leftovers.

Friday, 4 May 2012

Turkey
Saltimbocca Skewers

Turkey
fillets flattened and rolled up with red pepper pesto, sage leaves
and Parma Ham, then cut into short pieces and skewered. I served mine
on jewelled amaranth, and as I was eating it suddenly panicked about
the syn value of amaranth. I always assumed it was syn free, and
checking it afterwards I was right. Phew! Amaranth is a grain that
was popular with the Aztecs and ancient Mexicans, and is regaining
popularity as a healthy alternative to rice or couscous. I simmered
mine in some stock with chopped red and green peppers and baby
sweetcorn.

The plates were a gift from a very good friend in Texas, and the skewers I brought back from Burkina Faso.

Turkey Saltimbocca Skewers

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy

300g
turkey fillets

½
red pepper

50g
tomato purée

bunch
sage leaves

4-5
slices Parma Ham (same amount as the number of turkey fillets)

Flatten
the turkey fillets as much as you can, either by using a kitchen
mallet or a rolling pin, covering the meat with cling film to stop it
splitting. Liquidise the half a red pepper and mix with the tomato
purée, then spread on each of the flattened turkey fillets. Place
the sage leaves on top and then the ham. Roll up from the long side
and cut each roll into slices around one inch thick. Thread the
slices on to skewers, ensuring that the ends of the rolls are secured
well. Grill on a high heat for 10-15 minutes, until the turkey is
cooked. Serve with accompaniments of your choice.

WARNING:
if using metal skewers, they will be hot. I know, I am sporting two
nice little blisters as I write this.

Looking
for shitake mushrooms on the shelves in Tesco, I came across some
forestiére mushrooms, a new variety 'just discovered'. Always one to
try something new, I was delighted to find they were on special offer
too. Almost any type of mushrooms would work in this recipe though, and I really couldn't tell a difference with so many other flavours.

This
dish is very much more than just a simple soup, it is very filling
and a meal in itself.

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy

200g
extra lean pork mince

4
cloves garlic, crushed

1
bunch spring onions

2
red chillies

zest
of ½ lime

½
tsp galangal

1
tsp dried ginger

2
kaffir lime leaves

¼
tsp lime powder

1
tsp salt

a
few turns of the mill of freshly ground black pepper

1
tsp sweetener

¾l
well flavoured stock

1
tbsp light soy sauce

50g
forestiére mushrooms, finely sliced

1
pak choy

100g
fine egg noodles

5-6
shallots, finely sliced

A
few shredded mint leaves to serve

Finely
chop half the spring onions and one of the red chillies. Mix with the
pork mince and add the garlic, lime zest, galangal, ginger, kaffir
lime leaves, lime powder, salt, pepper and sweetener. Stir well to
ensure it is thoroughly combined. Turn into little balls and place in
a steamer. Steam for 15 minutes until cooked through, reserving the
water that has come off the balls for using with the stock in the
soup.

Thinly
slice the remaining spring onions lengthways in 2” long pieces.
Slice the second chilli. Gently sauté the shallots for a couple of
minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms, cooking for a few more
minutes while stirring. Add the stock, meatball stock, pak choy,
spring onions, soy sauce , sweetener and noodles. Simmer for 3-4
minutes and serve with the mint leaves.

Boiled
Eggs with Watercress and Parsley Sauce

It
is very unusual for Husband to say he doesn't like something, but
this morning he did. Unlike me, he is very particular about what he
can and cannot eat for breakfast, and this really didn't suit him. Oh
well, you can't please all the people all the time.

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy

4
eggs

1
packet watercress

1
bunch flat leaf parsley

salt
and pepper to taste

pinch
of cayenne pepper

Boil
the eggs to your liking. Place the watercress and parsley in a
liquidiser with a couple of tablespoons of water and process until
smooth. Season to taste. Pour the sauce on a plate and top with the
boiled eggs, quartered.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Salt
and Pepper Man

As
soon as I saw this wrought iron figure at a blacksmith's house in
Bobo Dioulasse in Burkina Faso, I had visions of him carrying salt
and pepper on my dining table. The artist had a few different designs to
choose from, but this one really caught my eye. I enjoy bringing back
unusual but useful souvenirs, and love my little salt and pepper man. The
slate base came courtesy of our local builder's merchant, as my little man was somewhat unsteady on his feet and kept falling
over shedding his load all over my table.

The tablecloth is in fact a blanket from Darjeeling in India. Another
useful souvenir.

Strawberries
Cardinal

As
the two men in my life were having triple chocolate pudding for
dessert tonight – special offer at the garden centre of all places,
selling off Easter stock- I didn't want to be left out, so I decided
to make myself one of my favourite summer desserts: Strawberries
Cardinal.

Serves
1

2.25
syns on Extra Easy

150g
strawberries

150g
raspberries

sweetener
to taste

Hull
and quarter the strawberries. Place the raspberries in a saucepan
with a little water and heat gently until the berries are nicely
crushed. Push through a fine sieve to remove the little seeds and add
sweetener to taste. In a bowl, mix the raspberry coulis with the
strawberries are stir well to cover. Leave for at least an hour at
room temperature before serving.

Of
course, it is perfect topped with whipped cream, but fat free yogurt
was pretty delicious too.

Lamb
Shanks with Barley and Root Vegetables

This
seems to have been cooking all day, and I struggled to find a pot
large enough to house all the vegetables, but it was well worth it
for the finished product.

Served
2

2½
Syns on Extra Easy

2
lamb shanks

a
couple of handfuls of pearl barley

bouillon
powder to make stock

2
medium sized potatoes, diced

2
carrots, thickly sliced

2
leeks, thickly sliced

1
parsnip, diced

1
onion, diced

4
tbsp Bisto gravy powder

Place
shanks and barley in a large oven-proof pot and cover with stock.
Bake at 160°C for 1.5 hours. Add the vegetables and return to the
oven for a further 1.5 hours. Remove the juices form the pan, keeping
the meat and vegetables hot, add the Bisto powder to the pan juices
and heat to thicken, adding more water if necessary.

Serve
the vegetables on a plate, topped with the lamb shanks. Serve the gravy separately, and mint sauce is desired.

Asparagus
Mimosa

This
would make a very impressive looking starter for a dinner party. It
looks really complicated, but it is in fact far easier than it
looks, and only two ingredients. If you find it a bit dry, serve with
mayonnaise or a Hollandaise sauce. We used the leftover shallot and
garlic sauce from yesterday.

Asparagus Mimosa

Serves
2

Free
on Extra easy.

250g
asparagus spears

3
eggs

Boil
the eggs for ten minutes. Put the asparagus in a pan of boiling
water, then switch off the heat. Leave in the pan to keep hot.

Shell
the eggs and separate the white from the yoke. Press the white
through a sieve with the back of a spoon, repeating with the yoke.
Arrange on top of the asparagus and serve any sauce separately.
Voilà!

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Monkfish
with Shallot and Garlic Sauce

I'm
not often 'allowed' to go grocery shopping in Waitrose, as I tend to
buy to many of the nice things I see there that are not usually
available in Tesco or Morrisons. Yesterday was no different. We only
bought 21 items according to the receipt, but it came to £67 –
that's over £3 per item. Oops. And there was I supposed be trying to
save money...

Some
lovely monkfish fillets caught my eye, so I had to put my thinking
head on to create a recipe for tonight.

Sauté
the shallot and garlic in a little Fry Light until soft. Mix
together the tartare sauce, yogurt and mayonnaise. Add the shallots
and garlic mixture and mix well.

Boil
the soya beans for 10 minutes until very soft. Briefly blanch the
samphire. Grill the monkfish for 7-10 minutes, depending on the size.

Drain
the soya beans, reserving the water. Crush the beans with a potato
masher adding a little salt and the mint sauce. Using a chef's ring,
place the crushed soya beans in the centre of the plates. Top with
the samphire and last the monkfish. Using the hot water from the soya
beans, dilute the shallot mayonnaise mixture to a runny sauce
consistency. Poor some over the monkfish, and serve the rest
separately. Serve with grilled tomatoes.

I
also topped the whole thing with a few chilli sultanas, allowing ½
syn for 3g of sultanas. I keep a small jar of these in the fridge –
they keep almost indefinitely and a great added to salads or like
this, just a few to garnish a dish. Sultanas and fresh chillies
squashed tightly into a jar and topped up with dry sherry. Keep for a
few weeks before using to let the flavours develop.

I
also keep sultanas in balsamic vinegar in the fridge, as well as
raisins in rum.

Freekeh
Salad with Sumac Lamb

Always
one to try something new when I see it; when I discovered a box of
Freekeh on the shelves of Bristol Sweetmart the other day, I
couldn't resist buying it.

Freekeh
is a roasted green wheat which is particularly popular in Palestine,
the Arabian peninsula and Egypt. According to Wikipedia: "The
wheat is harvested while the grains are yellow and the seeds are
still soft; it is then piled and sun-dried. The piles are then
carefully set on fire so only the straw and chaff burn and not the
seeds. It is the high moisture content of the seeds that prevents
them from burning. The now roasted wheat undergoes further thrashing
and sun-drying to make the flavour, texture, and colour uniform. It
is this thrashing or rubbing process of the grains that gives this
food its name, farīk
or
“rubbed.” The seeds are now cracked into smaller pieces so they
look like a green bulgur."

The
initial plan was to make this as a vegetarian salad, but a surplus
lamb shank changed that plan. Buying three of any piece of meat
usually proves difficult as the store normally packages them in twos.
Although shanks were available to buy singularly at the butcher
counter, they were much smaller and looked inferior.

This
recipe would work equally well with other cracked wheat such as
bulgur, or even couscous or rice.

Freekeh
Salad with Sumac Lamb, Figs and Feta

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra easy providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra
A

150g
cooked lamb

1
tsp sumac

100g
freekeh

5-6
small fresh figs, quartered

100g
feta cheese, cubed

½
red onion, thinly sliced

small
bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cut
the cooked lamb in to small slivers and coat with the sumac. Leave in
infuse for a while. Cook the freekeh in plenty of salted water for 30
minutes or until cooked to your liking. Mix together all the
ingredients and serve.

This
was a great salad to take for a car picnic today, although I did
carry the feta cheese and parsley separately and mixed in just as I
was serving.

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Pork
and Pasta Bake

Yet
another dish where I am not going to offer a recipe – gosh I feel
lazy today! To the leftover pasta with pork and mushrooms from Sunday
night, I added a small carton of passata and some chilli, cinnamon
and cumin powder; then topped the whole thing with a little grated
reduced fat Cheddar cheese and baked it in the oven until it was
nicely browned. Love it when dinner is that easy. I did however,
spend quite some time making a picnic for tomorrow's day out, so
hopefully I am forgiven for my lack of culinary activity today.

We
did treat ourselves to small but syn free dessert this evening
though: jelly with blueberries, topped with fat free yogurt.

Roast
Turkey Carvery

Once
a week or so we take my dad out for a meal, nearly always to The Carvery Company at Cribbs Causeway. Roasts are not difficult to make but
equally they are not the most exciting of meals to create either, so
I thoroughly enjoy having someone else cook it all for me. Meat
always tastes better and juicier from a larger joint I think, and if
I was to cook such a meal for the three of us, we would end up eating
leftovers for the rest of the week. By the time I would have bought
all the vegetables, it would probably work out more expensive too –
at £10 for two meals, it is really good value for money.

There
is a choice of roast turkey, beef and pork at lunchtimes during the
week, and vegetables include cauliflower cheese, roast parsnips,
peas, leeks in a creamy sauce, peas, carrots and cabbage, so there is
something for everyone, with a choice of roast or new potatoes,
stuffing, Yorkshire puddings and gravy as well as all the usual
condiments: mustard, mint sauce, horseradish, cranberry sauce.

Since
starting the Slimming World plan again this time, Husband and I have
been feeling the cold much more, probably because of cutting right
down on carbohydrates; but we both came out of the restaurant this
lunchtime with a nice warm glow.

Seared
spring onions with poached egg

I
have never understood the concept that certain foods have to be eaten
at certain times of the day, so I often find myself tucking into
dishes first thing in the morning that most people would not consider
'suitable' for breakfast. This is possibly one of them. The recipe I
adapted it from suggested it as a supper dish.

OK,
I have to be honest here, and say that the consistency of the spring
onion sauce initially reminded me a little too much of the glutinous
okra side dishes so often served in West Africa and the Caribbean. I
have a very adventurous palate, and enjoy an enormous range of tastes
and consistencies, but glutinous is not one of them. However, once I
got past the visual aspect of the sauce and actually tasted it, it
was nothing like okra nor was it particularly glutinous.

Seared
spring onions with poached egg.

Serves
2

Syn
Free on Extra Easy

2
bunches spring onions

4
eggs

a
little lemon juice

salt
and pepper

Liquidise
one of the spring onion bunches with the lemon juice, adding water
until you get the consistency you want. Sear the other bunch of
spring onions over a high heat in a little Fry Light. Poach the eggs
to your liking and serve with the whole spring onions with a little
sauce spooned over.

Followers

About Me

I am a 50-something female who is not just passionate, but obsessive, about food, travel and photography. I will try just about anything, at least once. I may not like it, but at least I've tried.
At the moment I am trying to combine losing weight, cooking exciting and appetising meals, saving money on my weekly grocery shop and creating something worth photographing in the process.
My cooking is anything but an exact science so if you're looking for accurate measurements and detailed descriptions, you're reading the wrong blog. I usually just take a little bit of this, some of that, a pinch of something else and keep repeating until it tastes good.
The recipes are based on the Slimming World programme.
PLEASE NOTE: THE PHOTOS ARE ALL MINE AND COVERED BY COPYRIGHT, PLEASE DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION